Pearl’s moral ambiguity shows in her transformation from being seen as a beacon of evil to being seen as an intellectual and socially aware young lady. By being a morally ambiguous character, Hawthorne is able to leave the reader in a perpetual state of apprehension regarding Pearl’s true moral alignment. From the moment Pearl is born, the little girl is treated like an outsider, and as a figure of evil and possible satanic origin. This view of Pearl comes forth in the personality during her early years. Pearl does not fit in with the rest of the children around her because of her connection to sin and evil. She is not pure enough to live amongst the strictly raised Puritan children: “An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right
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She is a brash and unfiltered young lady, who is not afraid to share her opinion. Pearl exhibits this trait when she and Hester stand atop the scaffold with Dimmesdale and she rips her hand away from the minister and points out the cowardice he is showing: “Thou wast not bold!--thou wast not true!... Thou wouldst not promise to take my hand, and mother's hand, to-morrow noontide!” (108). Pearl is not afraid to point out the faults she sees in those around her. She and her mother have survived seven years of publicly being shamed, and minister Dimmesdale is not brave enough to publicly admit to his sins and stand with the family he helped create. Pearl is protecting herself and her mother from being hurt by the cold feet of Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl is also extremely intuitive and insightful. She is very perceptive of the people around her and is able to comprehend complex ideas. For example, when Pearl and her mother are in the forest and on their way to meet with Dimmesdale, Pearl is able to determine a connection between Hester’s sin and the minister’s sin: “Is it because, when the minister wrote his name in the book, the Black Man set his mark in that place? But why does he not wear it outside his bosom, as thou dost, mother?” (128). Pearl is intelligent enough to recognize that her mother and Dimmesdale have both sinned and that their sins are intertwined. Whereas this question could be mistaken for plain childhood curiosity, Pearl has continually noticed the connection between her parents and their sins. Pearl is looking for the truth, and no one has given it to her, therefore she uses her intuition to determine that her mother and father’s shame the product of the sins they share. The most pivital moment of Pearl’s transformation to a young lady is the decision she makes for herself while watching her father die: “The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had
She is a brash and unfiltered young lady, who is not afraid to share her opinion. Pearl exhibits this trait when she and Hester stand atop the scaffold with Dimmesdale and she rips her hand away from the minister and points out the cowardice he is showing: “Thou wast not bold!--thou wast not true!... Thou wouldst not promise to take my hand, and mother's hand, to-morrow noontide!” (108). Pearl is not afraid to point out the faults she sees in those around her. She and her mother have survived seven years of publicly being shamed, and minister Dimmesdale is not brave enough to publicly admit to his sins and stand with the family he helped create. Pearl is protecting herself and her mother from being hurt by the cold feet of Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl is also extremely intuitive and insightful. She is very perceptive of the people around her and is able to comprehend complex ideas. For example, when Pearl and her mother are in the forest and on their way to meet with Dimmesdale, Pearl is able to determine a connection between Hester’s sin and the minister’s sin: “Is it because, when the minister wrote his name in the book, the Black Man set his mark in that place? But why does he not wear it outside his bosom, as thou dost, mother?” (128). Pearl is intelligent enough to recognize that her mother and Dimmesdale have both sinned and that their sins are intertwined. Whereas this question could be mistaken for plain childhood curiosity, Pearl has continually noticed the connection between her parents and their sins. Pearl is looking for the truth, and no one has given it to her, therefore she uses her intuition to determine that her mother and father’s shame the product of the sins they share. The most pivital moment of Pearl’s transformation to a young lady is the decision she makes for herself while watching her father die: “The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had